Book 2, Chapter 12 Summary

Sophie does not tell Joseph what happened. He goes to Providence and stays away for five weeks. When he returns, Sophie avoids him, hoping that he will forget her. One day, he bangs on the door for two hours until she finally opens it. He tells her he is leaving for good after next week, and he asks if she wants anything from his house. She says no.

Sophie listens to the wailing of Joseph's music next door. Her mother has not spoken to her since she began the tests. Feeling alone and lost, Sophie goes to the kitchen to retrieve the mortar and pestle her mother uses to crush spices. She takes the pestle to bed with her and hugs it to her chest. She thinks of a story she once heard about a woman who never stopped bleeding. After...